INDEPENDENT EVIDENCE-BASED EXPERIENCED

Call 612-305-8189
Book a consultation

Law Enforcement & Public Safety

Law Enforcement & Public Safety

Independent, peer-level forensic case review for Minnesota agencies facing cold cases, contested rulings, and in-custody deaths.

Emergency vehicle light bar with red lights on left, white center display, and blue lights on right, illuminated against dark background.
Stack of documents and papers with yellow tabs and pen, representing case files and investigative materials.

Law Enforcement & Public Safety Forensic Consulting

Some cases don't close cleanly. A cause-of-death ruling gets challenged, a family or a media outlet starts asking questions your case file can't fully answer, or a cold case death investigation needs fresh analytical eyes before it can move forward. NorthStar Forensic Consulting works with Minnesota law enforcement agencies and public safety departments as an independent forensic consultant, brought in to review the reports, photographs, and documentation of the evidence, the medical findings, and the investigative record on cases where the stakes call for a second, credentialed opinion.

This is not oversight and it is not advocacy. It's a peer-level case review, conducted the way you'd want a colleague from another jurisdiction to look at your file: methodically, without an agenda, and without a stake in any particular outcome.

When Agencies Call: Cold Cases, Contested Rulings, In-Custody Deaths

Agencies typically reach out to a death investigation consultant at a specific pressure point. A cold case death investigation has stalled and needs a fresh review of what's already been collected. A medical examiner's cause or manner of death ruling is being publicly disputed by family, media, or counsel. An in-custody or officer-involved death needs an independent forensic look before internal review, a use-of-force board (matters outside Minnesota only), or litigation begins.

In each of these situations, the value isn't necessarily new evidence — it's a documented, independent read of the evidence you already have, from someone outside the chain of the original investigation. NorthStar screens every matter so that no consultant reviews a case he or she previously worked on.

What a Case Review Covers

A forensic case review draws on whatever record exists: police reports, scene photographs, autopsy and toxicology findings, medical records, and investigative narratives. NorthStar's police report review and forensic case review services examine consistency between the physical findings and the investigative conclusions, flag gaps or questions worth revisiting, and produce a written opinion your department can use internally or reference if the case moves toward legal proceedings.

Where the file allows for it, this can include an assessment of scene interpretation and review of injury findings and of the basis for the cause and manner of death, by NorthStar's forensic pathologist — always scoped to what the existing record supports, not speculation beyond it.

Desk lamp illuminating scattered papers and eyeglasses on a dark wooden desk at night.

Working With Your Investigators, Not Around Them

This is criminal investigation consulting done alongside your team, not in place of it. Findings are shared directly with the requesting agency, and the scope of any engagement is defined up front — what's being reviewed, what questions are being asked, and what form the final opinion will take. For the full detail on how engagements are scoped and what NorthStar does and does not represent, see our Legal Disclaimer and Scope of Services.

NorthStar handles agency materials according to the agency's data classifications and the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, and returns or destroys them at the end of the engagement. Any public-facing statement is the agency's decision, not NorthStar's.

A Consultant Who's Worked the Other Side of the File

NorthStar Forensic Consulting is led by Ryan Jensen, whose background in medicolegal death investigation gives this review process a working investigator's perspective rather than a purely academic one. That background is what agencies are actually paying for: someone who has sat with case files like theirs and knows what a complete record should show — and where it commonly falls short. More on that background is on the About page.

Minnesota agencies can start with a direct conversation about scope, timeline, and cost. NorthStar reviews closed and completed matters, and agency practices and policies. It does not participate in active criminal investigations.

Five Doorways into the Same Standard of Review

Pick the track that matches your situation.

Each one leads to a page that spells out exactly what the engagement covers.

Requesting a Case Consultation

Every engagement starts with a conversation, not a commitment. Reach out through Contact with a general description of the case and what kind of review you're considering, and NorthStar will follow up to discuss scope and next steps. Pricing and booking details for a forensic case consultation are outlined on the Pricing page.

Contact NorthStar View Pricing